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JEEPERS CREEPERS 2 review by Joseph B. Mauceri
The
Creeper is back... REVIEW:
Victor Salva
strips his Creeper down to its basic nasty self and turns up the
fear factor in this fast paced sequel. He gives the creature more
of an organic feel here. The story is set a short time after the
original, on the 23rd day of the Creeper¹s reign of terror.
In the sequel, Salva¹s demon comes off ghastlier as he flies around
the countryside terrorizing the back roads and claims victims. Salva crafts
a great overall tale. He first introduces the Taggart family and
the abduction of young Billy. As the father (Wise) is dealing with
his lose and grief, along comes a busload of basketball players,
their coaches, and cheerleaders. The director quickly dispatches
the adults, leaving the kids to fend for themselves. Terrorized
by the Creeper, chaos swiftly breaks out among the kids and Salva
takes advantage of the situation to pay homage to the classic ³Lord
of the Flies.² On the other side of town, Taggart¹s grief blossoms
into revenge. He fits his pickup with a homemade harpoon and he, and his
son, set off in search of the creature. What ensues is a wonderfully
entertaining homage to Steven Spielberg¹s masterpiece ³JAWS.² The
entire theme is summed up when a character comments on their being
two class of people on the bus, ³the will be eaten and the won¹t
be eaten.² Salva shows
a unique proficiency for maximizing the impact of his special and
visual effects, working them seamlessly into the plot, regardless
if they appear in daylight or darkness. He has the creature taking
long flights mostly at night, showing him flying primarily by his
shadow during the day. The bulk of the more graphic effect sequels
take place under the cover of night. He does trash several teenagers,
and most of the adults, for the most part their grisly demise happens
off camera. The majority
of the vivid stuff is inflected upon the Creeper. There¹s a great
sequence when one of the cheerleaders sticks a javelin into its
eye and out the back of its head. Once again,
Salva is lucky enough to work with an incredible cast of actors.
No one in the cast is as recognizable as say Bruce Willis, Tom Cruz,
Johnny Deep or Will Smith, but they¹re just as talented. The most
identifiable face in the cast is Ray Wise, who had a reoccurring
role in David Lynch¹s ³Twin Peaks.² Did I already mention how good
Wise is in this film? Jonathan Breck, who is hidden under the makeup
of the Creeper, has several scenes where he taunts the kids on the
bus. He does a startling job of get his expressions through the
makeup. I¹ve said it before, but when you have a talent cast that
isn¹t comprised of the ³usual suspects,² or easily recognizable
celebrities, it heightens the horror because we¹re not distract
by the personalities. There are
only a couple of awkward moments in the film. I was curious as to
why Minxie (Aycox) is the one, out of all the students, have the
visions. One of my colleagues felt that it was because she fell
asleep on the bus. The dialogue during the key scenes was fine,
however there was some weak dialogue in a few spots. For those people
who are still aware of Salva¹s troubled past, my colleagues and
I where a bit curious about all the young boys with their shirts
off, or why so many had to take a piss in the field. If it was the
director thumbing his nose at his detractors, it¹s all in good sport.
However, if it¹s notŠ OFFICIAL
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SYNOPSIS:
Every 23rd
spring, for 23 days, it gets to eat. Billy Taggart is fixing the
scarecrow in the cornfield when right in front of his father; the
boy is snatched screaming into the sky.